Quote:
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins
It's not. In fact, this was specifically addressed during the Mets debacle on Sunday. The broadcasters referenced Tim McCarver who said that catching foul tips was nothing but luck.
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I feel like it's a little like playing goalie though, is it not?
If you're a goalie and you're playing with perfect technique, it doesn't guarantee that you'll stop a deflection but if you're over on time with your stick on the ice and you're pretty upright through your shoulders then you're probably going to be in the right position to at least greatly increase your odds.
So if you're Tony Cruz and you're flinchy and you 'jab' at balls when you receive them rather than smoothly slide over to catch them, you're going to be a little less likely to catch that tip. And where Yadi does do some slight of hand to pitch frame, I also wonder if that same 'slide' movement that he does isn't going to help because he's tracking with the flight of the ball and that's generally the same direction the ball will deflect.
No, there's nobody that's ever been quick enough to actively move to catch a foul tip and claim credit for it. But I would think that the sounder you are from a technique standpoint and the quieter you are as a receiver, the more likely you are to catch that foul tip. At that point, it isn't pure luck - it's still a skill or at the very least a moment where skill and luck interact.